Donnie (the Dragon) Denton- My Body Guard

All my life I’ve hung out with tough guys. My usual body guard is Casey Jones, an ex-army sharp shooter and black belt. That’s another story but today I want to tell you about Donnie Denton. We call him Donnie the Dragon. Donnie travels with me when Casey is away on another assignment.

I guess I always gravitated towards these guys because for a man I’m a little tender-hearted. There ain’t a thing tender-hearted about Donnie. Years ago he was doing some wiring at our house. He met my wife at the hardware store so they could pick out some supplies they needed. Some fellow talked to my wife the wrong way and Donnie overheard it. He came over and said, “You mess with Dr. B’s wife and I’ll knock the h#%% outta ya. Doc’ll come bail me out of jail and we’ll go eat some fish.”

We’ve been friends every since.

One time someone insinuated they’d like to do me some harm and Donnie the Dragon told ’em there warn’t a man in Harvey County he couldn’t whup. They backed away. No one ever took him on. They were smart. You just don’t tangle with a cat who was a paratrooper in Nam.

He retired from the bail bondsman biz after a stint in Europe. He had tracked a transvesite who skipped the country after a murder charge, tackled ’em in the streets of Paris, and rode back to the States handcuffed to him (or her maybe) so they could stand trial in Arkansas. Donnie’s all about justice.

The Dragon can fix heat ‘n air and electrical and plumbing, and can weld. He knows how to hunt, fish, and trap. He smokes cigarettes all night long, has a perpetual three day stub, and cooks salt and pepper catfish over a fire in a 50 gallon drum he sawed in half and fashioned into a cooker. He loves bluegrass music and will listen all night long. I called one morning to ask how he was. He said, “Doc, only fair when you’re eating Saturday night’s pizza come Sunday morning.”

Don’t be fooled though. Donnie the Dragon is tougher hung over than most men are sober.

I’m a nice man, and I try to treat every human being I run into with respect and dignity. Almost everyone I meet reciprocates that courtesy. For the few who might choose not to for whatever reason I feel compelled to issue fair warning. I am tender-hearted, but Donnie the Dragon lurks in the shadows. I am proud to call him my friend ’cause he is true bluegrass, and I thought ya’ll ought to know of him.